Prime Minister Abe Appeals to Japanese on Pacifist Constitution

TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his most emotional appeal yet on Thursday for rewriting Japan’s pacifist Constitution, asking for what he called the country’s “biggest reform since the end of the war.”

In the equivalent of a State of the Union speech to Parliament, the first since his governing party swept national elections in December, Mr. Abe made an impassioned plea for change. At times almost seeming to shout at the chamber, the prime minister said the time had come for Japan to try the same kind of sweeping transformation that it accomplished after its defeat in World War II.

“People of Japan, be confident!” said Mr. Abe, a conservative who has often called for the country to play a more active role in global affairs. “Isn’t it time to hold deep debate about revising the Constitution? For the future of Japan, shouldn’t we accomplish in this Parliament the biggest reform since the end of the war?”

The appeal was the latest in a series of calls for constitutional change by Mr. Abe and his followers in recent weeks, after the killing of two Japanese hostages by the Islamic State militant group in the Middle East. Mr. Abe and his supporters have seized on that crisis to urge changes that will probably include rewriting Article 9, which bars Japan from maintaining its own armed forces.

That restriction was imposed, along with the rest of the Constitution, by postwar American occupiers to prevent Japan from ever again embarking on a militarist expansion. Over the ensuing decades, the Constitution proved so popular among Japan’s war-weary public that it has never been revised, though since 1954 Japan has interpreted Article 9 loosely enough to allow for a defensive military, called the Self-Defense Forces.

Mr. Abe faces high hurdles in amending the Constitution, including votes by two-thirds majorities in both chambers of Parliament and ratification by more than half of voters in a public referendum. While the governing Liberal Democratic Party may be able to muster enough votes in Parliament’s lower house, an amendment would probably face greater resistance in the upper house and among the public.

Perhaps mindful of that, Mr. Abe also called on maintaining the postwar alliance with the United States as the bedrock of Japan’s diplomacy.

He also expressed “deep remorse” for the war, apparently to head off criticism from the Japanese left and from former victims of Japanese aggression, notably China and South Korea, that he was seeking to return to the country’s past militarism. Instead, he said, he sought a policy of “proactive pacifism” that would allow Japan to contribute to global peace and prosperity.

“There will be no deviation from our path as a nation of peace,” Mr. Abe said.

“We will resolutely protect the lives and happiness of our people,” he added, apparently referring to the hostage crisis. “To do this, we will put in place a national security system that can seamlessly respond to all contingencies.”

Still, in calling for changes to the Constitution, Mr. Abe appeared to be returning to an issue that has been close to his heart throughout his political career, and one that he may hope will form his most enduring legacy. Before becoming prime minister two years ago, Mr. Abe frequently called for discarding Japan’s American-imposed “postwar regime,” including Article 9.

After taking office, however, he became more cautious in his statements, as opinion polls showed that a majority of Japanese still opposed changing the Constitution. But his political speech changed after the hostage crisis involving the Islamic State. His supporters on the right have seized upon the crisis to call for freeing up Japan’s armed forces to defend its interests — not only in the Middle East but also closer to home, where the rise of China is changing the region’s power balance.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: Abe Appeals to Japanese on Pacifist Constitution. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe